Is optical fiber dangerous?

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Cabling installation professionals face safety hazards when working with both copper and fiber-optic cables, but if you ask them which cable provokes more cautious handling, they are likely to say copper because of the electricity it carries. Since optical fiber carries light, it is assumed to be the safer medium. This belief may be misplaced, however. While optical fiber doesn`t carry electricity, it does transmit light, which, in some instances, can damage the eye. The glass fiber itself also

Cabling installation professionals face safety hazards when working with both copper and fiber-optic cables, but if you ask them which cable provokes more cautious handling, they are likely to say copper because of the electricity it carries. Since optical fiber carries light, it is assumed to be the safer medium. This belief may be misplaced, however. While optical fiber doesn`t carry electricity, it does transmit light, which, in some instances, can damage the eye. The glass fiber itself also poses a danger, potentially becoming embedded in or under the skin.

In recent years, common safety concerns have been addressed in most cabling industry training programs and materials, but fiber-optic safety still takes a backseat to other safety concerns, according to Larry Johnson, president of The Light Brigade (Kent, WA), a fiber-optic training company. "The industry downplays fiber-optic safety. It`s not seen as a major issue," Johnson says.

But Johnson and other industry experts caution that fiber-optic safety deserves the full attention of installers. "Many people are unaware of the problems that fiber poses," says Tom Reinert, national sales manager for the Fiberoptic/Telecom Div. of Clauss (Fremont, OH). "People are coming into the fiber arena from the electrical world with a strong respect for electricity and electrical wire. They should carry that same sort of respect for glass fiber."

Reinert notes, for instance, that the glass-fiber scraps generated as a product of terminating fiber-optic connectors pose a safety hazard. Nearly every installer who works with fiber has had a glass splinter at one time or another.

Fiber scraps can become glass splinters

To terminate fiber-optic cable, whether for connectorization or splicing, the installer usually strips back the cable`s jacket and buffer to access the glass fiber and its cladding. Once stripped, the fiber is inserted into the connector. A cleave tool is used to produce a smooth endface and prepare the fiber for insertion into a splice or for polishing.

But what happens to the piece of glass that has been cleaved? The cleaved fiber may fall where it will--on the top of the table where the job is being done, at the bottom of the raised floor, or maybe into a cup of coffee that is close by. The scraps may even be brushed into a nearby garbage can. Then what happens if someone rests his or her hand on top of that fiber scrap? The glass is transparent and the scrap is probably small, so unless the person is the one who did the terminating, he or she may not know the hazard is there.

By comparison, a small wood splinter may not pose a threat to most people, but a glass sliver could. The nearly invisible sliver may be impossible to locate once it breaks the skin, so in many cases, the splinter cannot be removed until the area becomes inflamed and infected.

Safety kit to the rescue

To combat such potential danger and with input from fiber-optic training schools, Clauss introduced its Fiber-Safe fiber-optic safety kit two years ago. Reinert says it`s the only such kit on the market. It includes safety glasses (for keeping eyes free of scraps), a black polishing/work mat (the black surface makes it easier to locate fiber scraps), Teflon-coated tweezers to remove splinters (regular tweezer ends break fiber scraps), and a bifurcated swipe (for cleaning fiber ends and sterilizing the tweezers for splinter removal). One of the most popular components of the kit is the fiber-scrap trash can, which provides a single place for disposing of bits of fiber. Once full, the small trash can may be incinerated.

While the fiber-scrap trash can is convenient, many installers still choose to use an old standby for catching the scraps--double-sided tape. The scrap-laden tape can be tossed into the trash can. However, this system has its own problems. A janitor emptying the garbage later could get a splinter and not know what it is.

"The key point is that the contractor has to be responsible for his or her debris," Johnson notes. "If he leaves it in the garbage can or drops it in a raised floor, the person coming in later is going to pay the penalty."

Johnson suggests that contractors police themselves. "You are dealing with a liability issue, and if you are the end-user, you need to protect yourself," he adds. "The end-user may even want to write up a section on proper fiber disposal in the contract."

With plastic optical fiber becoming better known, questions about its safety may also arise, but this concern is not entirely warranted, says Johnson. The core of plastic optical fiber is too large to be hazardous, and the fiber is not as sharp as glass.

"With plastic, you don`t see the fracturing of the end like you do with glass," Johnson states. "A glass-fiber end is very similar to a hypodermic needle. It doesn`t take much for it to break the skin."